Bridgewater Executive And Family Killed In Costa Rica Plane Crash

Prominent Bridgewater Associates executive Bruce Steinberg and his family were among 10 Americans killed when a charter plane crashed into a mountain in Costa Rica on Sunday.

The news was first reported by the New York Post yesterday. Bruce and Irene Steinberg and their sons, Matthew, 13, William, 18, and Zachary, 19 were all aboard the single-engine Cessna when it smashed into a mountainous region in the Guancaste province while en route to the capital city of San José, officials said.

“The Bridgewater family lost Bruce Steinberg (a senior investor at Bridgewater and a wonderful man) and his family,” Ray Dalio, the founder of the Westport, Connecticut-based hedge fund, said in a Facebook statement on Monday. "Right now, we are each processing this devastating tragedy in our own ways. At this time I will be devoting my attentions to doing this and helping others."

"Their children would have changed the world,” family friend Robin Shainberg told The Post. “They were just the most lovely family - the most giving, caring, wonderful friends to have."

The site of a plane crash in Punta Islita, Costa Rica on Dec. 31.

Bruce Steinberg, 50, was a graduate of Columbia Business School, and Irene Steinberg, 51, was active with the UJA-Federation of New York. In 2015, she chaired the annual campaign kickoff of the organization’s Scarsdale Women’s Philanthropy group, according to the New York Post.

Bruce Steinberg’s sister mourned the loss of her brother, sister-in-law and “3 amazing nephews” in a Facebook post Sunday night.

“We are in utter shock and disbelief right now,” Tamara Steinberg Jacobson wrote, thanking those who were reaching out to her and her devastated parents.

The Steinbergs were active in philanthropy and the local Jewish community, Rabbi Jonathan Blake of the Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale wrote in a statement on its Facebook page. They were involved with the UJA-Federation of New York, the AJC Jewish advocacy organization and Seeds of Peace. They also were members of the Sunningdale Country Club.

“All the Steinbergs will be remembered by their Scarsdale and the temple community as among the most devoted to the welfare of the Jewish community and the beauty of the Jewish tradition,” Blake said. "They will be deeply missed."

Another US family that perished in the crash was identified as Mitchell and Leslie Weiss — both doctors from Florida — and their daughter, Hannah, a 19-year-old student at Columbia University.

Mitchell, 52, was a radiology specialist in Clearwater who went to medical school in Philadelphia. Leslie, 50, was a pediatrician who practiced in Tampa.

The other Americans killed were Amanda Rae Geissler and Gene Wing Szeto. Their hometowns were not immediately available.

The plane’s crew members were identified as Juan Manuel Retana and Emma Ramos Calderon.

Former Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla, who held office from 2010 to 2014, tweeted that Retana was her cousin.

“Our beloved cousin dies as part of the crew of the plane crash in Guanacaste,” she wrote. “Strength to your children and siblings and peace to your remains. You will remain in our dear heart #JuanManuelRetana.”

Authorities in Costa Rica said strong winds were reported in the area of the crash and were being examined as a possible factor in what happened, according to the Associated Press.

"No possibility can be left out for certain,” the AP quoted Michael Soto, deputy director of Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation agency, as saying. “We have two aspects: The principal one would be some weather condition and if there was a mechanical issue."

In another crash involving a small aircraft, Compass Group Plc Chief Executive Officer Richard Cousins and four members of his close family were killed when a seaplane crashed into the Hawkesbury River in Sydney, Bloomberg reported.

To avoid these horrible tragedies, people should be more cautious about trusting these small, private plane operators. There are far more accidents with those. Are all these pilots trained extensively in the military or commercial airline industry? This is one of those areas where high levels of training should be mandatory, and people should not be allowed to own and operate planes without it. I know that is not libertarian, but hey, multiple people die in these accidents.

I'll tell you this: If I were one of these big hedge fund guys with some money in the bank / market I would be very careful.

CIA knows all the keystrokes to get into everything you have. Additionally CIA has a huge overlap with organized crime.

Sound like a bad combination for your health?

No amount of Flintstone vitamins protects against that. In Latin America assassination by aircraft is quite common. It's getting ugly out there. You can no longer assume you're safe Mr Hedgy. Given the events of 911 you can't even assume the CIA op won't extend to the full sized aircraft either. If they have asbestos in their building or want to start a war you may well be toast. Literally.

So many attention whores on the net these days you do have to be extremely careful.

........and I don't doubt CIA et al are upping their disinformation F.U.D. campaigns. The level they used previous to the internet is not sufficient post internet. We have actually gotten a peek at a few things before they inevitably up their game until now you see they are pushing the "flying saucer" shit to the point where there are idiots who actually believe in wide spread UFOs controlling "blue avians". Sheesh.

Just don’t trust them unless you have some reason to. From JFK’s son to this, there have been a ton of needless tragedies due to small plane crashes. We had a horrible one in this city, in which someone I knew was killed, a very nice person, actually. Maybe, vacations in the USA are safer, while also boosting the tourist industry here, although those small planes crash in America a lot, too. It is often people who think they are pilots, when it is just their hobby. That activity is just too dangerous to trust to hobbyists. Leave that to professionals.